Masterton

Masterton is located near the head of the inland Wairarapa valley plain bounded by hills and ranges either side. The Masterton urban airshed is the least windy and has a greater temperature range than other parts of the region.

Air quality is currently monitored at two sites surrounded by residential land; one in Masterton West on Pownall Street and one in Masterton East on Herbert Street.

The Masterton East monitoring site is used to determine compliance with the National Environmental Standard for PM10. The Standard requires Masterton to have no more than three days per year where PM10 levels are above 50 µg/m3 from September 2016 and no more than one day per year from 2020.

Town Summary

Air quality in this town

In Masterton PM10 and PM2.5 levels are highest during winter evenings when people are using fires for home heating and when weather conditions are cold, there is little wind and skies are cloudless. Other sources of PM10 and PM2.5 emissions are traffic, industrial and commercial processes and natural sources.

Levels of carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide, which are indicators of traffic emissions, are low.

Population

{{summary.population}}

Number of households

{{summary.households}}

This information is collated from 2013 Census information. The census is the official count of how many people and dwellings there are in New Zealand.
Census information is collated every five years.

Sources of air pollution

In this town, where do emissions come from?

The split between home heating, industrial, outdoor burning and traffic sources

Show Hide

Sources of PM10 emissions

Source

Annual percentage

Winter day percentage

Home heating

{{summary.emissions.annualhome}}%

{{summary.emissions.winterhome}}%

Industrial

{{summary.emissions.annualindustry}}%

{{summary.emissions.winterindustry}}%

Outdoor burning

{{summary.emissions.annualoutdoor}}%

{{summary.emissions.winteroutdoor}}%

Traffic

{{summary.emissions.annualmotor}}%

{{summary.emissions.wintermotor}}%

Relative breakdown

Annual

Winter day

The table shows the proportions of the main sources of PM10 in this town from home heating, industrial activities, outdoor burning and traffic. (Indoor sources and natural sources of air pollutants are not included in this breakdown).

These values come from 2013 data sourced from MfE’s data service. Consistent methodology was used to calculate these estimates of PM10 emissions, which allows comparison between towns throughout New Zealand. Some regional council published emissions information might differ if they were prepared in a different year or used another method. Contact your regional council for more information about PM10 and other emissions.

Seasonal variation

Show wind speed

Show temperature

Showing:

Concentration (µg/m3)

Wind speed (km/h)

Air temperature (℃)

What is this graph showing me?

The graph shows the monthly average PM10 concentration at one representative site in this town for the year selected.
In many towns in New Zealand, PM10 peaks in the winter when air temperatures and wind speeds are lowest as more people
heat their homes during colder weather, and still conditions mean that there is no wind to disperse the air pollutants.

Sites 2

Monitored sites in Masterton

Monitored sites in this town can be categorised according to location:

Residential: Air monitoring site is in a suburban area with a relatively high population density, but not close to a busy road or industry.

Traffic: Air monitoring site is very close to a busy road or intersection.

Industry: Air monitoring site is close to industry, including heavy commercial and processing factories.

Coastal: Air monitoring site is close to the coast where there are high levels of sea salt in the air.

NES: A site monitored for compliance with the National Environmental Standards for Air Quality (NES-AQ).